Category Archives: Solved

Post navigation

So when I was in 6th grade (1992), I had a wonderful teacher. She pushed us to read and loved books herself. We had a project at the end of the year. I can’t remember if this description I’m about to give you is of 2 books or one. My 11 year old son is an avid reader and I’d love to find this/these books for him.

There was a gazing ball (like a mirrored one) in a garden. It was not scary, maybe some mystery but definitely not scary. Maybe a young girl.

And my other memory is of a hot air balloon. I feel like there were a lot of people on the balloon. It could have been actual balloons and not the hot air version. And I want to say they were on a huge piece of wood not a basket. I’m thinking it may have been an award winning book but I’m not for sure on that either. I have no idea if it is one book or two and this has driven me crazy for years. I’ve looked it up every way I know how.

There’s a book of fiction about a girl who lives in or near a castle- I seem to remember it won an award- I think I found it at a Scholastic book fair. This girl is somehow considered badly behaved- and she’s allowed to run wild. She is kidnapped by fairies who live in a huge underground warren (I think under a mountain) to be a servant. They’re drugged every night with the food that she discovers if she skips, she’s more alert but struggles with claustrophobia. Because of her refusal to eat the drugged food, she catches the interest of the Queen of fairies who teaches her, mostly through humiliation, how to walk and move gracefully. She’s eventually rescued and the fairies are forced into the other world, sealing their mountain.

I can’t find this book at all- My sister claims she never read it and I looked through the books at my parents house without finding it.

I am looking for a 1960-1980 era book, about a girl with amnesia that ends up working on a horse farm, buys a horse from going to slaughter, and then discovers she used to be rich and jumped show horses. Her step parent [I want to say father] ended up being the culprit. The point of view was from the girl, and I want to say the book starts with a car accident, which causes the amnesia.

1968 – 1970 I read a book about 4 children (2 boys, 2 girls) who lived on the edge of a wood. Their ages ranged from 8 – 12-ish. The setting was not a specific geographical location although the story was written as realistic fiction… with a bit of fantasy thrown in. I believe the author and publisher are English (from Great Britain) because of where I was living at the time and the phraseology used.

Each Saturday the children would visit a wise old man (wizard ?) who lived in the woods behind their home, at the top of a magical tree. His quaint little cabin in the tree was never visible to adults, only children. During each visit, the children would ask what special “place” or “kingdom” had stopped at the top of the tree, which could be reached by climbing a ladder (inside his living room) that went up into the clouds that would settle on top of the tree.

Each chapter in the book told a new adventure the children had in the different magical places that stopped for brief time periods at the top of the tree. Each adventure also taught the children a life skill, or a positive character trait.

One such adventure was of a Carnival, where everyone was riding rides, playing games, purchasing trinkets and sweets. But, the children soon discovered that in this place they could not purchase anything for themselves, but only for someone else. They realized they must work together and pair up to enjoy the day by learning what each other would like and then making the purchases for the other person. At the end of the day, when they come back down the ladder to the wise man’s living room, he talks with them about what they learned.

Kids trained to 'push' virtual soldiers on a digital (AR/VR) tabletop. The soldiers turn out to be real people. There are two kids (boy and girl?) who are able to sneak out and talk to each other during their training. I think this was a YA novel as I read it in elementary school in the late 90's/early 00's

A Little Golden Book (or similar style) about a young island (Polynesian?) girl. A ship's captain visiting her village gifts her with a porcelain doll. She tries to play with it as she had her own doll, but found that she couldn't get it wet, or feed it sand cakes, etc. It was a book my grandmother had, but I'm pretty sure it's not a vintage book - probably no older than the 1960's (but that's 10 year old me remembering. ) Still, I don't remember the graphics being older looking. It was the size, shape and length of a Golden Book.

I’m looking for this children’s book about two sisters. Big sister must take little sister out to play while mom is busy in the kitchen. Little sister sings “We’re going to the rocksy-tocksy-wocksies” as they head to the shore to play on the rocks. Little sister slips and falls but big sister rescues her. My daughter checked this book out of the elementary school library around 1989-1992, but it had been published well before that. Thank you.

Read a story in the late 60s early 70s about alien lifeforms that were spheres. Two of them would merge into a third “super” sphere. The story was about one that wished he could meet this particular super sphere without realizing it was half of its creation.

The story is about a teenage girl who doesn’t remember her past. She moves to a new town with her parents. They live in a big house with a hedge around it. There is a mystery involved with the house. I don’t remember the events in the story, but somehow her life is in danger and I think she starts remembering things from her past and possibly the house. Her parents might not actually be her parents. At the end, someone to kill her at the house where she is alone because whatever she is starting to remember will expose what they have done. She finally remembers everything during the fight? for her life. I read this book probably in the late 60’s early 70’s.

It’s a mystery/thriller, with some paranormal overtones. I was born in ’66 and I believe I’d read it by the time I entered high school in ’80, so it must have been written sometime before then. Possibly way before then, as I recall the book was a beat-up paperback when I picked it up.

It’s about a set of female cousins. One is dramatically beautiful, outgoing and rich, and kind of mean; she dies (I think before the book’s action begins) and leaves her estate to her cousin, who bears a certain resemblance to her but is kind and introverted. The good cousin moves into the house and begins thinking her dead cousin was murdered, I think? She also starts behaving oddly – more like the dead cousin. She dyes her hair to match the dead cousin. I vaguely recall a reference to “silver blonde” or something like that.

There’s a love interest for the cousin – I want to say he’s a lawyer? And that he also had some kind of relationship with the dead cousin? Maybe?

I think the dead cousin’s name is Cathy or Kathy, or maybe it’s the surviving cousin’s name? I don’t remember how the book develops the ghost angle – whether the ghost is real or just the cousin’s imagination – but I’m pretty sure it turns out she was murdered.

There’s a supporting character who’s a friend of the living cousin. I remember she shows up at one point and is described as an earth mother type, I think, and says something about the coffee she’s offered – like “heavens, yes, keep it coming” or maybe “I like my coffee like I like my men” but I could be wrong on that.

God I hope that’s enough because it’s driving me nuts, and I can’t find it, and this is all I recall.

Post navigation

Who We Are

Loganberry Books was established in 1994 as an independent new, used and rare bookshop. Located in Shaker Heights, Ohio, we now feature more than 80,000 volumes and weekly events -- and a loud cat named Otis to greet you. For more information please visit our website at www.loganberrybooks.com.